dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 30, 2014 3:33:28 GMT
So, I have read the Ordo Typhonis is NOT a initiatory school that takes in novices and trains them. If that is the case, what do members do? How does the order function?
This is fairly rare amongst esoteric orders so I must say that I am quite curious.
Dustin
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Post by Ad Finem on Mar 30, 2014 9:38:45 GMT
I think Dustin, you will find it is not so rare as you imagine. There are many such Orders which may be Inner or Outer in their function. The Priory of Sion was one such Order and I believe the the New Isis Lodge and the Chroronzon Club were other both operating on Earth via the Mauve zone. Of course these Orders have a purpose which is to transmit a particular current via their Secret Chiefs or Inner Plane Contacts. I think the best way to think of such Orders is as transmission centres rather than training orders such as the Golden Dawn used to be.
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Post by N0T 2 on Mar 30, 2014 10:48:54 GMT
The Golden Dawn did the whole Secret Chief thing too, following Blavatsky's nudges in that direction. But I suspect dustin is asking about people rather than them - what do the humans do? Nu Isis Lodge had human members.
I don't know what the Typhonian Order members do, as I'm not a member. There used to be the Pyramid of Power diagram (in Hecate's Fountain) showing one version of Grant's revised O.T.O. plan, but I believe, erroneously or otherwise, that this is no longer followed as such. There was a circular arrangement of grades described in an earlier book as well.
It's a reasonable question for an Outsider to ask, mainly (if only) because the Typhonian Order is often justifiably held to be the current "O.T.O." mainly through Kenneth's books stating as much (using the term O.T.O., even now).
The O.T.O. under Crowley, and before him, published a great deal of information about itself in a formal sense, so even if you weren't involved, you had an idea (for better or worse!) of what to expect, or at least, of what you were supposed to expect for yourself. Whether such a decision based upon this kind of published propaganda is of any real value or not I don't know, given the high degree of contrast between these publications and the reality that ensued in historical time, but it was at least something to think about and work towards. The sorts of things I refer to are the various Constitutions, Book 101, Book 194, the chapter in Magick Without Tears etc. which people are still reading today for the first time, all rosy-eyed and best-intentioned...
Crowley desperately wanted people to join the O.T.O. for various reasons - his livelihood was one of these, the spread of his religion was another. So he wanted people to join. So he made a very joinable thing which even complete idiots could join. The Typhonian Order, in contrast, appears far more specific - but no revised, current published manifestoes have appeared recently in the way Crowley's did when he revised everything post-Reuss. Presumably it's mostly up to you, once you're in, what you do, but that's just a guess.
My question is, who's the Head, now that our very dear Brother Aossic has left us? Is it Steffi or Michael or someone else? I don't recall any announcement being published where this is made clear...(which in itself might be a bit of a relief, actually, in O.T.O. Head-heavy history!)
Yours in non-mobile becoming, N0T 2
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 30, 2014 20:46:26 GMT
Actually, N0T 2 was on the money. I was referring to the people within the Order. And, I think that sounds reasonable. Once you've done your nine months work, you're free to do whatever else. At least this is my understanding.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 5, 2014 3:04:19 GMT
I would say a good example of some of the research and work that is being done can be found in the many editions of the journal Starfire.
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Apr 5, 2014 22:35:27 GMT
Aren't they a little hard to come by?
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Post by N0T 2 on Apr 6, 2014 2:05:45 GMT
Aren't they a little hard to come by? Noand NoThe former (latest) issue (II/4) is staggeringly substantial.
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Post by Nalyd Khezr Bey on Apr 6, 2014 2:37:29 GMT
And there is also the recent Ecpyrosis: The Best of Starfire Volume One as a nice shortcut to some of the more important articles of the back issues (which can be hard to come by... or expensive to come by).
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 6, 2014 3:29:20 GMT
Ye gods, yes! by all means get a copy of Ecpyrosis. Some of the best material that has appeared over the years in Starfire is collected therein. In particular, Going Beyond and The Heart of Thelema by Michael Staley are some of the most important (for me) essays I have read; I rank them on par with the Typhonian Trilogies themselves in as much as reading them had a deeply profound effect on my own work and direction it has taken.
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Post by N0T 2 on Apr 6, 2014 10:05:13 GMT
Ye gods, yes! by all means get a copy of Ecpyrosis. Some of the best material that has appeared over the years in Starfire is collected therein. In particular, Going Beyond and The Heart of Thelema by Michael Staley are some of the most important (for me) essays I have read; I rank them on par with the Typhonian Trilogies themselves ... Agreed, Gregory. Ecpyrosis is magnificent, particularly the hardcover edition, which is physically enchanting as a presence in itself, above and beyond its superlative contents, a treasure to every sense. A tremendous Thelemic artefact with body, heart and soul that shares no peer - as befitting a Star.
The essays of Michael's which you mention above are true Thelemic classics of our generation and inspired me greatly as well when I read them some decades ago for the first time on Peter Koenig's excellent site, which I encountered at the suggestion of a friend who was leaving the Caliphate in disgust after running an Oasis of theirs for a few years. Given the context of the times in which these essays were written also, they bear important articulations of fact and doctrine which in many cases were, for me, absolutely resonant with my experience and intuition to date as well as casting a very helpful mind-beam over the/a Way ahead in very geniune and plain language which speaks simply of a truth requiring telling, hearing, and knowing.
Even just the echoes of footsteps upon the Way can be as the dawn for the distant traveller.
Great though Ecpyrosis is, the latest issue of Starfire (II/4) is, I feel, worthy of special note. Revisiting it recently, your words reminded me that it seemed like exactly what I had fantasising about in recent months - a Folio-sized edition of the Typhonian Trilogies (this has to happen), except written by various authors (new seeds!). It is one of the most intense, balanced and complete books I own, this latest issue of Starfire (II/4), and perhaps better than all previous issues in terms of its concentrated treatment of the infusion of advaita in the Typhonian Tradition, through Crowley to Blavatsky and beyond. Gary Dickinson's article on Lam is particularly brilliant, but really every single article is of extraordinarily high quality, whether fiction, scholarship, discursive essay or exposition.
Many ways lead from these flowers of the Silence.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 6, 2014 22:11:19 GMT
Yes, agreed on all counts Not 2! I have been spending the afternoon today going back through Starfire II:4 and was also struck by Dickinson's article -- remarkably well done with many threads to follow up on in my own research. Alistair Coombs article also stood out for me. Top notch stuff leaving me wanting more original research like this. Starfire stands alone in this category, offering cutting edge research papers alongside outstanding fiction.
I have the hardcover of Ecpyrosis as well; really beautiful work as always from the team at Starfire Publications.
Really people, get your Starfires if you haven't already. They are worth every penny. My only regret in this regard is not having a complete collection!
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Post by Frater Shaddad on Apr 7, 2014 5:18:06 GMT
Dustin & NOT 2,
Since Mick hasn't answered yet, I'll say a few things. If you email Mick concerning joining the Order you will receive the new Typhonian Order manifesto giving you the answers to most of your questions. Steffi Grant is not actively involved in the new T.O. In regards to what Work the members do NOT 2 is incorrect. Once in, you are not just free to do whatever you want (as stated in both the new T.O. manifesto and the old T.O.T.O. manifesto there is a set amount of Gradework.) Gregory is correct in his suggestion on obtaining the Starfire issues for some examples.
In Irem, Frater Shaddad
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Post by Nalyd Khezr Bey on Apr 7, 2014 13:43:31 GMT
Aren't they a little hard to come by? Noand NoThe former (latest) issue (II/4) is staggeringly substantial. I just now realized that your "no's" are links and you linked Ecpyrosis there. Sorry for the redundancy of my last post. Links don't stand out very well on this site. When I add a link I usually bold it for that reason. I also agree about that last issue of Starfire; was a seemingly more focused edition.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 7, 2014 16:17:36 GMT
The quality of writing in Starfire as a whole, but in particular the excellent material of Starfire II:4, is both a blessing and a curse (aren't all good things?). It makes me feel as if everything I have ever written is just a hack job in comparison - seriously excellent writing in that edition! On the flip side , the high quality encourages me to continue striving for the Stars!
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Apr 9, 2014 6:27:33 GMT
Shaddad,
I would most certainly like to receive a copy of the manifesto. Who do I receive it from?
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Post by Frater Shaddad on Apr 14, 2014 6:11:42 GMT
As I said in my previous post, you need to contact Michael Staley.
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Apr 15, 2014 4:03:13 GMT
Oh, I see now. Mick is short for Michael. Understood.
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